Experiment #459

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Our name, no my name is Dei. Thank you so much, Rachel!"

I smiled. He really was moving forward in escaping the mindset Nightingale had put him in. Maybe now he was a little more comfortable with answering some questions I had.

"Dei, can you tell me about what happened at the facility? What did they want you to do? How long were you there?"

His body language changed. Now he was uncomfortable.

"If you don't want to answer you don't have to right now."

"No, we want to tell you what I can."

He drummed his fingers on the table.

"It's all a little blurry, honestly. It's like when I was awake, we knew what was happening, but I don't remember much the next day. I remember that they taught us different ways to help people."

"How so?"

He took a small bite of his burger.

"They taught us how to clean, cook, follow commands. That was always the strongest rule: do what Master says."

I pursed my lips. I already didn't like this.

"When I was good, they praised us. They called me a good boy, a loyal little pet, and it felt so nice. But when we were bad..."

He trailed off. Things were starting to fit together. He was made to be a servant, and the carrot/stick approach was a classic move in brainwashing.

"Well, you don't have to worry about it anymore. As long as I'm here, you're never going back."

He nodded, but still looked a little shaken.

I remembered what Isaak had told me, as well as some oddities I had experienced with Dei myself. Back at the facility he was able to tell where to place a bomb just by looking at a wall. He also seemed to need less food, water, and sleep than me.

"Did they tell you about your body being inorganic?"

His eyes widened. Apparently not.

"Inorganic? Is something wrong with me?"

"No, nothing is wrong with you. You're just different from most other people. You weren't born, it seems more like you were made. But that doesn't make you any less human. People have robotic implants and other inorganic body parts and it doesn't change who they are."

He nodded again.

I sat back a bit in my chair. Dei might be the only one of his kind in the world. But I didn't want him to see that as a bad thing.

Did I, though? I had been pressuring him to change: wear clothing, speak in the singular, I even gave him a name. Maybe I was trying to tell him who he was just as much as Nightingale.

"Are you okay with changing like this? I don't think I ever asked you about it."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, it makes sense that you should try to blend in, since we're on the run, but is this what you want? Is it uncomfortable for you to wear clothes? Is it hard changing the way you speak? I don't want you to just blindly do what I say without question."

He finally smiled again.

"Rachel, the fact that you're even saying that proves you care about us more than our old Masters ever did. It's a big change, but so far I like it a lot. It makes me feel special. I feel...human."

I smiled right back at him.

"That's great to hear, Dei."

"So...what do we do now?" he asked.

"You and I are going to a different city. We'll figure it out as we go."

He nodded.

"I want to help you in any way I can, Rachel."

The two of us left a little later, and I took a moment to look at him in the setting sun when we went outside. In one day this boy had changed my life. But now we were in this together. We were family.

A part of my brain quietly reminded me of what Mars had said. Was I being manipulated? And if I was, was Dei even aware of it?

I didn't have the answer for that, so I tried not to worry about it too much.

That night the two of us slept in the crappiest motel I had ever seen, but as far as Dei was concerned it was the height of luxury if I was holding him. I slept, completely worn out from that day's events, my new companion in my arms.

*****

We had been on the run for six weeks when I got my next job.

Me and Dei had gone to a city far to the north and were eventually able to get a place to stay, but it was even smaller and shittier than my old apartment. Up until then I had been doing odd jobs to make ends meet and he had been keeping things up at home: cooking, cleaning, fixing the endless number of things that were broken. It was hard work, but he never complained.

As the days went by he became more and more comfortable living fully as a human. He stopped forgetting to put on clothes, rarely ever slipped up and called himself 'we', and was less submissive and meek. It was great to see him grow so much, form his own identity. He even learned things about himself he had never known before. Aside from sharp eyes that could find even the smallest details he had already demonstrated when we were escaping the facility, he also had a nearly perfect memory. When he was concentrating on something as it was happening, he could pull it up later flawlessly.

I had been pretty busy as well. Aside from my full-time minimum wage work, I was also doing what I could to make myself known in the underground as a bounty hunter. In a city so full of warring factions and underground crime it didn't take long for someone to take the bait.

This woman was named Mallory, or at least that's what she told me to call her. Apparently the target was her ex-husband, who stole a large chunk of her vast wealth and ran. Like most of the people I work for, she wanted to hire somebody under the table to save face. She was the CEO of a clothing conglomerate and didn't want to face the embarrassment that making it public would bring her and her company. It was all pretty standard, the odd thing was what Dei asked me when I told him about it.

"Can I come with you?"

I raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"I want to help you. Please?"

One of the less spectacular side effects of Dei finding himself is that he learned how to use his puppy dog eyes. He rarely ever brought them out, but when he did, it was hard to say no. I figured that if it was something he really wanted there wouldn't be any harm in it.

"Fine, but I'll be calling the shots. I'm the one with experience here."

He nodded.

Mallory chose the location, a fancy coffee shop I couldn't afford to eat at even if I wanted to. When we walked in I looked at the back left corner she said she would be at and sure enough saw a woman sitting alone.

She was an interesting specimen. She was tiny, even shorter than Dei, with delicate features and long blonde hair. I would almost have described her as appearing fragile if I hadn't looked at her eyes. Mallory's eyes had a power and strength behind them that told me this woman would make a powerful enemy.

"Mallory?"

She looked up and smiled.

"Rachel, I presume?"

I nodded and she turned to look at Dei.

"And who is this?"

"This is Dei, my partner. We'll be working on this job together."

She giggled. "My, this boy is adorable! How old are you, hon?"

Dei swallowed before answering.

"I'm eighteen, ma'am."

"So, what are the details?" I asked her, trying to start talking about what we came here for.

Mallory and I discussed the job for the next thirty minutes while Dei just sort of awkwardly sat next to me. Part of the reason why he was uncomfortable was because Mallory kept glancing over at him, often winking. Sometimes she would ask him a question completely unrelated to try to rope him into the conversation. I remembered the alleged magnetism Dei apparently had, and how I didn't really see in manifesting in Isaak. Maybe it had a stronger effect on women.

On the subject of the job, she didn't give us much to work with. Her ex's name was Sherman, and she gave us a picture of him. Unlike Mallory, he exuded strength and authority. He was tall and muscled and stood with pride, his red hair and beard trimmed immaculately. His eyes were sharp and stern, just like his ex-wife's.

According to her, Sherman had only ever wanted her for her money. He didn't even want her for sex, he apparently got plenty of that without her. Any attractive female secretary or cute pool boy was fair game. Mallory addressed Dei again when she told us this.

"You're going to have to be careful, sweetie. Rachel isn't his type, but a boy like you is right up his alley. I don't want anything happening to you out there."

Dei turned pink and nodded timidly.

Our job was to simply apprehend Sherman and bring him to her, she would take care of the rest. Unfortunately she had nowhere to point to when it came to where he actually was.

"All I can tell you is that he's in this city."

That was hardly any help. The city we were in was even bigger than the one where I used to live: over 2 million people densely packed together. To my surprise, Dei asked a question, the first time he ever actively contributed.

"What makes you say that? If he wanted to run away, wouldn't he go as far as possible?"

"If he had any brains he would, but he still has some outstanding debts around here: gambling, bank loans, even unpaid bills at strip clubs. He has to have been to every nudie bar in this city. Then, instead of learning anything, he'll just keep gambling and buying a lap dance from anyone who'll take cash."

Up until that point Mallory had kept her composure, but now I could hear some bitterness creep into her voice. I was not envious of Sherman and what would happen to him after we brought him to Mallory.

On the topic of payment, she gave us a number that seemed kind of low, but not low enough for me to try to haggle. This was our first job, so we weren't in the position to be picky. I asked her what the time frame was and she told us that it didn't matter.

"I don't care if it takes a day or a month. Just get it done."

"Are you sure? If we get him sooner you'll be able to get back more of your money."

Mallory leaned forward a bit.

"That money is insured. I have more of it. The money was never what was important."

Her expression hardened.

"I've spent my whole life clawing up to the very top. I'm not going to let anyone use me."

I made a mental note to not give her any reason to turn on us.

The rest of the meeting went by quickly. She paid us the first half up front, and told us to call her if we had any questions. She actually patted Dei on the head before she left. It was a minute after she was gone that Dei spoke.

"She's...she's kind of scary," he said quietly.

"Yeah, she is. Let's do this right."

Thanks to the cash advance from Mallory, I was able to quit my jobs and the two of us spent the next week conducting reconnaissance on Sherman, visiting several different casinos and strip clubs. Well, I went to the strip clubs, I always told Dei to wait outside. Mallory was right; they all knew about Sherman. If he wasn't banned from them, he had a huge debt with them, and even if he repaid his debt they didn't like him. I heard stories about him sexually harassing the dancers and getting into bar fights with other men.

This was all intel we could use against Sherman, but the problem was how we were going to actually catch him. Mallory wanted this kept under wraps, so when we captured him we had to do it when he alone. That was where we kind of hit a wall.

Sherman was apparently a very guarded, suspicious person. Most of those bar fights came from him being convinced that somebody was trying to steal from him or pick a fight. He was paranoid, which made sense considering what he had to do to get all this money. We needed to make him lower his guard somehow.

An answer fell into my lap a few days into the mission, though it wasn't an answer I liked.

I was walking out one of the strip clubs, this one being a male strip club, when I saw a man I had never seen before talking to Dei. Curiously, I stood back and listened to what he was saying.

"A cutie like you could make some good money if you knew how to work that body." He sounded drunk.

"Thank you, but I already have a way to get money," Dei said, looking uncomfortable.

"Aw, that's a shame. The world could use a boy like you."

He began approaching.

"Let me take you home, baby," he slurred. "I'll show you a good time..."

He reached out to touch Dei and I immediately ran up to put myself between the two of them.

"Back off. Don't touch him or you'll regret it."

Being taller and stronger than him, I was able to intimidate him enough that he took a step back. But he was either really drunk or really stupid, because he got mad and pushed it.

"What, are you his mommy or something? He can make his own decisions." He looked at Dei again. "What do you say, baby? Let's ditch her and have some fun."

Dei was now hiding behind me and peeked his head out.

"No thank you. I'm fine."

The guy glared at us for a few seconds before walking away.

"Dei, I'm sorry I didn't come in sooner."

"It's okay. He was probably the worst one."

I raised my eyebrows. "The worst what?"

He blinked a few times.

"That...kind of thing happens sometimes. Some man or woman would walk up and talk to me like that. They'd call me cute or something and ask to buy me stuff."

I stared at him for a few seconds, shocked.

"You...you do know what they're up to, right? Do I need to tell you what sex is?"

His face turned red instantly.

"No, I know what sex is! I always say no, so what does it matter?"

"I mean...I guess, but...how many times has this happened?"

He took a second to remember.

"Counting that man? Eight."

My jaw dropped. Even considering how many places we went to that week, the amount of time I had left Dei alone couldn't have been longer than two hours total. This had to have happened everywhere we went, every time Dei was by himself.

"That's...insane, Dei."

He shrugged. "What am I supposed to do?"

Without answering I just grabbed his hand and got us to my bike.

On the way to our apartment I remembered a few things.

This experiment has something programmed into it that draws other people in, Mars had said.

I had originally thought he was lying. Yeah, I felt drawn to him, but Isaak clearly didn't. He was just trying to make me doubt myself.

But then I remembered a few things. Mallory seemed infatuated with Dei from the moment she met him. And now men and women alike were approaching him constantly. Dei hadn't gone out in public much before now, so considering that it wasn't even a sudden change.

Maybe the only reason why Isaak wasn't affected by Dei was because he was straight. But anybody who was attracted to males...they seemed to find Dei irresistible.

When we got home I asked him about it.

"Those people who came up to you...how did they act? Aggressive? Forceful?"

He shook his head. "No, not at all. They were all really nice and friendly." He cocked his head to the side for a second.

"Actually, now that you mention it, it's kind of weird. Sometimes they'd act like a different person when they walked away. This one guy was so nice and sweet to me but then he walked off and got into a fight."

Dei sat back, his eyes lost in thought for a few seconds.

"This...this is something Nightingale did to me, isn't it? Something unusual."

"Yeah, I don't really see anything else it could be."

Then, in an instant, I got an idea. A way to get Sherman alone. But it was an idea I hated.

Rachel isn't his type, but a boy like you is right up his alley.

I tried to push the thought away, but unfortunately Dei noticed.

"What are you thinking, Rachel?"

"It's nothing."

"No, it's not. You just had an idea."

"Drop it."

Dei folded his arms.

"Rachel, remember what you said to me the night we met? You told me that you don't want me to lie to you. I want you to do the same."

He was serious. Actually...this might have been the first time he ever got upset or annoyed with me.

I sighed.

"I don't want to tell you, because this idea is dangerous."

"What is it?" he pressed.

"I mean...it's just that if we're right and Nightingale made it so you'll attract that kind of person...we could probably use it against Sherman."

His face lit up.

"That's a great idea!"

"No, it's not. I'm not leaving you alone with that asshole."

"Rachel, it's fine! He won't want to hurt me, none of them do. We can make this work!"

"But what if something goes wrong? Your life could be on the line!"

He looked stunned for a few seconds, but then gave me a little smile.

"No matter what happens, I know you'll be there to protect me. And I trust you with my life."

He reached out and grabbed my hand.

"Please. Let me help you."

I looked into his eyes. There was no hesitation.

"Alright, fine."

The two of us spent the night coming up with our plan. It seemed airtight, but I was still nervous.

Still, Dei trusted me.

Our plan was to start in a couple days.

*****

That Friday night a new location opened in the city, a casino with scantily clad workers, male and female. There was no way Sherman wasn't going to be there.

Dei and I went in, him with a tiny microphone attached to his clothing and me with an earpiece. I wanted to be able to listen in and intervene if things got ugly.

Sure enough, Sherman was there, and just as brash and rude as I was expecting him to be. He ordered around any of the workers he wasn't hitting on. I took a deep breath and forced myself to stay back as Dei walked over to be in Sherman's view.

It didn't take long for Sherman to start looking. I saw a hunger form in his eyes that I hated instantly.

A lady walked up to Dei and talked to him first, fawning all over him, but Dei politely declined. We didn't want Sherman getting the wrong idea.

The moment his roulette game ended he approached Dei. He had this toothy grin made my skin crawl. I heard him talk through my earpiece.

"Hey, bud," he said, his voice deep and rough. "Are you even old enough to be here?"

Dei nodded, smiling he was supposed to.

"Yeah, I just turned eighteen and wanted to meet people."

"Looks like you just made your first friend." Sherman slung his arm around Dei. He was so much bigger and stronger that Dei looked like he couldn't escape.

"I have to say, boy," he purred. "You're beautiful."

If Dei was as repulsed by this man as I was, he hid it well. He just widened his eyes, smiling.

"Really? That's so nice of you to say, sir."

The man stroked the boy's cheek.

"My name is Sherman. What's yours, sweetheart?"

"Dei."

Sherman tightened his grip around the boy.

"Well, Dei, you're coming home with me tonight."

Dei nodded submissively, risking a quick glance in my direction. I set my jaw and nodded a little.

The two walked out of the building, me following from a safe distance. The whole time Sherman kept complimenting Dei and saying all the things he wanted to do to him. It made me angry just hearing it.

Apparently wherever he was staying was within walking distance because Sherman just dragged Dei there on foot. They went inside and I sat back as they turned down the hallway.

I heard a thud, loud enough to be audible without the wire, and what sounded like a genuine gasp from Dei. I heard Sherman growl very clearly, like he was right next to the microphone.

"You're mine, bitch."

Then there was a sucking sound that it took a few moments for me to realize was kissing. But then I heard Dei's voice.

"That...that hurts, Sherman..."

The sucking just got louder.

"Shut up. You're getting marked as mine."

I put two and two together and realized that Sherman was trying to give Dei a hickey. Suddenly, I remembered something Isaak had said.

He's at least half machine. His entire body was full of metal, I couldn't use a metal detector to find the chip. He didn't even bleed when I took it out.